O'Bryant lifts LSU past Butler 70-68 in OT

Andre Stringer, averaging 15.5 points a game, got his first points on a jumper that put LSU (5-2) up 67-65 with 2:40 left in OT. After a Butler free throw, O'Bryant made it 69-66 on a jumper with just under 2 minutes left.

O'Bryant extended the lead to 70-66 with a late free throw.

"We knew coming in it would be a hard-fought battle against a team with a great tradition," LSU coach Johnny Jones said. "I thought our guys did a great job playing through it all. Finishing the game strong. I'm really excited about how these guys performed today."

Anthony Hickey got LSU into overtime by tying it at 61-all on a trey in the final seconds of the regulation. It was his only basket.

"I really don't look at numbers," Hickey said. "I just do whatever it takes to win."

Kellen Dunham had 20 points for Butler (5-2). The sophomore guard had a tourney record 32 points in Thursday's 76-69 win over Washington State, but was held to 9 points one day later in a 69-67 loss to No. 5 Oklahoma State.

"When you play in close games, there's a lot of things that can happen at the end of the game," Butler coach Brandon Miller said. "Sometimes the other team executes and makes shots. I thought the last two games there were some things that we can control that didn't happen our way, and I think there were some things that we can't control that didn't happen our way.

"I do think as we move forward, being in close games like we've been in will help us. Now in saying that, they help you if you can learn from them. If you can learn from your mistakes, you learn from your experiences, and we continue to get better."

LSU pulled even at 56-56 with 2:11 remaining after Martin had a rebound slam and O'Bryant made a short jumper.

Dunham had 11 points, including a pair of long-range jumpers during the final 70 seconds, as Butler grabbed a 27-26 halftime lead.

"It's not fun to lose," Barlow said. "The guys took it pretty hard. It just shows how close we are to beating good teams like LSU and Oklahoma State."

Elijah Brown was one of three Butler players that didn't play due to what Miller said was a coach's decision.